Our Data Promise to you

The Bauer Media Group is absolutely committed to respecting and protecting your data whilst it is in our care. We collect your personal information because it helps us to understand your needs and guides the way in which we interact and communicate with you about our products and services now and in the future. We have strict policies and procedures in place to protect your data when you send it to us, when we process it in order to provide you with the services you have requested or, where you have given us your permission to do so, to send you information that we think you'll find interesting, and thereafter when we store your data on our secure servers.

We are notified with the Information Commissioner's Office, the regulator of the Data Protection Act 1998 and abide by its requirements.

What personal data do we collect?

The Bauer Media Group collects both Personal Data and Anonymous Data when you send us information or when you visit one of our websites. When we talk about Personal Data we mean any information that can identify you as an individual, such as your name and postal address. Anonymous Data doesn't identify you as a person but it might be used in aggregate, for instance when you participate in a survey.

How do we keep it secure?

Our servers are protected using HTTP and SSL technology, so whilst your data is in our care we know it's as secure as it can be. Our staff are trained in data security, and our staff policies and procedures help our staff to understand what is required of them under their obligations to us, and also their responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 and other privacy legislation.

The internet is not a totally secure medium and you acknowledge and agree that Bauer Media Group shall not be responsible for unauthorised use, distribution, damage or destruction of personal data, except to the extent that we are required to accept such responsibility under the Data Protection Act 1998.

How do we collect and use your Personal Data?

We collect your details when you register on one of our websites, or respond to one of our promotions. We will always be transparent about how we plan to use your data so that you have the choice whether or not to give it to us. We respect your preferences and will do our best to make sure that we keep our promises.

If you give us your consent to send you further marketing messages we may contact you from time-to-time with carefully selected offers and promotions from ourselves or from our network of carefully selected partners, from which you may always opt-out or unsubscribe. It is not our practice to contact you if you have made it clear that you do not wish to hear from us about our products and services.

We may need to authenticate your identity to provide you with access to subscriber-only services. We might also send you surveys or invite you to enter a competition or receive a newsletter, for instance. If you do not wish to participate you may simply decline our invitations.

Our iPad, Android and other "apps" may collect user data, which we use to learn about our readers and improve our apps.

To understand how our "apps" are used we may use the service of Flurry Analytics or Google Analytics to provide us with anonymous statistical information about your use of our app(s).

As part of our Google Analytics tracking we have implemented the following features: Remarketing, Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting. Visitors can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising by visiting here https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/

We use this information for reporting purposes and to advertise online. Third-party vendors, including Google, may show your ads on sites across the Internet. We may use the cookies relating to Google Analytics together with third party cookies to inform, optimise and serve ads based on a user's part visits to our websites.

Do we share that data with any other companies?

Except as otherwise stated in this Privacy Policy or in the data collection statements that will always be visible when we collect your information and where we give you the opportunity to select your preferences, we may release your data to external companies that we use to process your orders, or charge your credit card, for instance. Every supplier we use has to go through a rigorous up-front process to ensure that their processes are at least as good as our own, and they are required to sign a contract that defines what their responsibilities and liabilities are. We make site visits regularly whether our suppliers are in the UK, the European Economic Area or outside the EEA, where we require an EU approved model contract to be signed.

However, you expressly consent to the sharing of your Personal Data with those suppliers with whom we contract in order to provide services to you, otherwise we may not be able to provide the level of service that we know you'll require.

If you send in a comment, we may post it on our site or use it as a testimonial without mentioning your full name or publishing any information that would identify you. Furthermore in some circumstances we may display some of your information such as your username and age. Others may be able to see your personal data if you post any information on bulletin boards or forums and may be used to send you unsolicited communications over which we have no control.

Please take care when using social networking sites to which we may invite you to join that you do not disclose anything that you might later wish to retract.

There are certain times when we may be legally required to disclose your data in good faith where it is required by law or to respond to subpoenas or warrants served on us, or where we have a requirement to protect or defend the rights of The Bauer Media Group or any users of our servers. We will always ensure that those requesting the information have the legal right to do so.

If another company should acquire any of our companies or our assets, including our database, that company will have the right of possession to the Personal Data collected by us and will assume the rights and obligations formerly attributable to us and will use the data in line with the terms under which you submitted it or as described in this Privacy Policy.

The information we may collect from you about others

Sometimes we may offer you the chance to invite a family member or a friend to enjoy a particular service. In such circumstances we will collect both your personal details and those of your friend or family member. We will ask your consent to mention your name when we contact the person or persons you have recommended and we will only use this information once and not save it in our database, unless they have entered a competition, for example, when the information will be stored purely for that purpose. If they decide to take up any of our invitations then their data will be treated exactly the same as your own, using the terms under which the data was collected and the information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Leaving our website and moving on to third party websites

When you click on advertisements or links on any of our sites, you will leave that site and go to a third party site which is outside of our control. When we place an advertisement on one of our sites, it does not signify that we are endorsing that advertiser's product or service. We do not accept responsibility for content, have no control over and our Privacy Policy does not apply to these companies, sites or content and if such third party sites collect Personal Data, we cannot control how this data is processed, stored or used. We advise that you read their data collection statements which accompany any registration and their Privacy Policies before you submit your personal information.

Cookies and how we use them

"Cookies" are small pieces of information that a website sends to your computer's hard drive while you are viewing a website. The Bauer Media Group uses cookies to provide you with a more personal and interactive experience on our sites. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies, but please be aware that for some parts of our sites to work, you will need to accept cookies. For more information please visit www.allaboutcookies.org and/or www.youronlinechoices.com

For more information on how the Bauer Media Group use cookies please read our Cookie Policy.

How you can gain access to the personal data we collect about you

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you have the right to see what information we hold about you and you may ask us to make any changes that you consider necessary to make the information accurate. If you want to apply to see the data we hold about you, please write to:

We will require that you satisfactorily identify yourself to demonstrate your entitlement to view this data, and we reserve the right to charge the statutory fee of £10 to provide this information.

Marketing to Children

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16 for marketing purposes.

Using our websites from outside the UK

Our servers are situated in the EEA and when you submit your details and in whichever country you are situated you agree to the data being transferred to the EEA and processed under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 which stem from European Directives 95/46/EC and 2002/58/EC respectively. If you are not in agreement please do not add your personal details on the website.

Questions regarding this Privacy Policy

If you have comments or questions related to this Privacy Policy please email datapromise@bauermedia.co.uk and we will respond as promptly and as fully as we can.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy will be amended from time-to-time if we make any important changes in the way that we collect, store and use personal data. We may notify you by sending an email to your last known email address or writing to your last known postal address to direct you to the Privacy Policy if the changes are material. Our despatch of a communication to you will, in any event, constitute notification.